Top



W. 1. KERR.

TOP.

APPucAnoN man JuLv 14.1919.

1,338,572, Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

WILLIAM J' `KERKI 0F SMETHPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

TOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

Application vled Ju1y14, 1919. Serial No. 310,523.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that l, VILLIAM J. aKER-R, a citizen of the United States, .residing at Smethport, in the county of -McKean and State of Pennsylvania, 1'have :invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Tops; and ldo declare-the followin-gjto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it -fappertainsftoimake and use the same.

My invention Vrelates I'to amusement devices and moreparticularly to a spinning top, one object of the `invention being to provide a deviceof this class `which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured and marketed, `yet one which will produce a great deal-of amusement, ywhile another object is to provide for rotating the casing of thetop bythe action ofaImainIrotary-disk and one or moresmaller disks in said casing. y i

A stillfurther object 'is to 'permanently attach a spinning cord -to vthe ldevice so that when it is unwound lto set the ytop in motionit will be immediately rewound "for further use.

'Vith the foregoing in view,'the invention resides inthe novel construction and [arrangement o`f parts hereinafter described and claimed, reference bei-ng lmade to 'the accompanying drawing which forms a'part of this application. e

Figure 1 is a vertical section fof a ytop constructed "in accordance with my inven- ,2, an open g'top 3, and 'a circular 'vertical wall `4. ,At its center, the bottom '-2 ,is

stamped downwardly to simultaneously provide a" bearing socket at' the upper sidejof said ubottom and a'bearing centerfatf-the lower side thereof, the lattei` being adapted to-rest' on any'horizontal"surface to revolublysupportthe device. yAn arched ystaff retamer 7 has its crown lspaced fabove `the socket 5 and provided with a circular opening, 8, while the legs of said retainer are secured to the bottom 2 in any suitable manner, as by forming them with tongues 9 which are passed through slots and clenched.

Afframe member spans the opentop 3 of the casing 1 and preferably consists of an arched spider 10 whose legs 11 are suitably secured at 12 to the wall 4 of said casing, preferably by passing said ends through slots and clenching them as shown in Fig. 1. A spider13 is disposed slightly below the crown of the frame member 10 and `its legs are appropriately secured at 14 to the legs 11, while the center of saidspider isformed withan opening 15 vertically alined with thesocket5- A vertical staff 16is received rotatably inthe openings 8 and 15 and is lprovided with bearing centers v17 at its ends,

one of these centers resting inthe socket 5 `whilethe other bears against the crown of the frame member 10. The retainer 7 andthe spider 13 serve to prevent tilting of the staf and to prevent possible slippage thereof from the socket 5.

The stafl'l 16 fiXedly carries `a horizontal disk 18'loc'ated kwithin the casing 1 with 4its peripheral edge in close relation with the circular wall 4, and 'said disk and staff are adaptedto be rotated'by means of a cord 19 wound on the stafl" 16 andhavingone endattached to said staifin such manner vas to remain connected therewith when the per end and one end of the'cord 19 Amay be passed through a groove 21 in said vhalf spool and knotted at `22. VThe spool serves `to prevent yentanglement of the cord inthe upper part of the Vdevice andfmay also be used toturn the staff 16`-whe n winding the cord'byV hand. y n v ISupported on the disk 18 and preferably loose therefrom, are a suitable number -of small disk 23 which are providedwith depending bearing centers Tor studs 24 which are ypreferablypointed as shown torest` on `the disk 18 with as littlefriction as possible. "The disks 23 are adaptedto travel around s the wall 4 when the dis-k 18 is setin motion and theyV thus :serve to cause 'theI entire casing 1 and the parts secured thereto, to revolve upon the bearing center G, thereby producing a very pleasing effect, particularly if the several moving parts are ornamented by painting, fancy printing, etc., and it is to Abe understood that this ornamentation may be carried out in any desiredV way. Also, the disks 23, although shown circular, may well be of any desired form, such as elliptical, star-shaped, etc.

In the 'form of construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the casing l is preferably formed of a block of wood provided with a socket whose wall 4a is of circular form. The bottom 2a of the casing ln is provided with a central bearing socket l5a and an arched retainer 7 a extending over said socket and provided with a central opening 8a. A frame member 10a spans the open top of the casing and is preferably in the form of a straight strip of metal having its ends at- -tached to the casing by tacks or screws 12a.

26. I support a suitable number of smallV disks 23- on the disk 18a and I have shown them' provided with depending bearing centers 24a loosely received in openings 27 in the disk 18a. Y

The form of the device last described is operated in the same manner as the type shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3 and if'the casing 1a be provided with a depending bearing center, it could be made to rotate, but this is a more simple and less expensive Vform of device and it preferably includes only the features shown, but it is to beunderstood that these features may be varied in numerous ways as to size, shape, ornamentation, etc. l

From the with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that although both forms of myl invention are of simple and inexpensive nature, they will be highly amusing, and since probably the best results may beobtained from the details disclosed, they may wellbe followed. I wish it understood however that within the scope of the invention as claimed,

, numerous minor changes may -well be made.

I claim: Y 1. A top comprising a casing having a clrcular vertical wall, an open top and a central bearing socket in the upperrside of its bottom, a frame member spanning theV open top of said casing andhaving a bearing alined-with said bearing socket, a vertiforegoing, taken in connection cal staff rotatably engaged with said bearing and socket, an arched retainer having an opening in its crown receiving said staif, the legs of said retainer being secured to the bottom of the casing, a disk carried fiXedly by said staff within said casing and having its periphery in close relation with said circular wall, and a cord for spinning said staff and disk.

2. A top comprising a casing having a circular vertical wall, an open top and a central bearing socket in the upper side of its bottom, a frame member spanning the open top of said casing and having a bearing alined with said bearing socket, a vertical staff rotatably engaged with said bearing and socket, an arched retainer having an opening in its crown receiving said staff, the legs of said retainer being secured to the bottom Y of the casing, a disk carried xedly by said v with lsaid circular wall while the device is in motion. Y Y

3.' A top Vcomprising'a casing having a circular vertical wall, a horizontal spinning disk rotatably mounted in said casing and having its edge in close relation with said wall, and a small disksupported bysaid spinning disk for running contactV withsaid-V wall, said last mentioned disk having-al depending central bearing stud. Y

4. A top comprising acasing having a circularV vertical wall, a horizontal spinning disk rotatably mounted in said casing and having its edge in close relation with said wall, and a small disk supportedby said spinning disk for running contact .with said wall, said disk having a depending central bearing stud sharpened and resting on said spinning disk. Y. 'I Y v 5. A top comprising a casing having a circular vertical ,wall and a bottom, ksaid bottom having at its upper side a central bearing and at'its lower side a central bearf` ing center, the latter being adapted to rest on a support to revolubly support thercasing, a vertical stati:l in saidcasingsupported by said bearing, means for holding said staii' against tilting, a Vhorizontal disk fiXedlyV stamping the centralpart of the casing bottom downwardly.v l Y A' 7. A top comprising a casing having an upper center contacting with the crown 0f open top and provided with a bearing at the said frame, said staff passing through the center of its bottom, an arched spider-like opening of said spider to prevent tilting of frame extending over the casing and having said staff, and a spinning member iXedly 5 its legs secured to said casing,aspider below carried by said sta and located in said 15 the crown of said frame andhaving a cencasing. tral opening, the ends of said spider being In testimony whereof I have hereunto Set secured to the legs of said frame, a vertical my hand. staff having bearing centers -at its ends, the 10 lower center resting on said bearing and the WILLIAM J. KERR. 

